Furious neighbours say a sea of rubbish has been piling up by the railway tracks in Willesden for a year – and bosses have done nothing to clear it.

There are boxes and bottles along the footpath connecting Willesden Junction to the Harrow Road. That’s before anyone mentions the rats, or the Japanese knotweed slowly approaching people’s homes.

Ward councillor Jumbo Chan told the Times he had been asking Network Rail – which owns the land – to fix the problems since spring last year, but seen no improvement.

Fernanda Oliviera uses the path every day. “It looks awful,” she said, “and because of the cardboard there’s the danger of a fire starting.”​Referring to the knotweed, she added: “A number of houses have been impacted by this. It’s a very serious weed that needs treatment before it spreads.” Left untreated, Japanese knotweed can destroy foundations.Network Rail’s Matt Brennan apologised to Cllr Chan and said he would contact a maintenance unit about getting the pathway cleaned.